Middle East

White House says five more countries seriously considering Israel deals

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has said that five more countries are seriously considering striking a normalisation deal with Israel after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed accords.
Human trafficking, money laundering: Kuwait court bins MP Papul’s plea for release

A Kuwait court has rejected Laxmipur-2 lawmaker Shahid Islam Papul’s plea for release and decided to postpone the trial of the accused in the case until October 1 after the hearing of a case accusing him of human trafficking, money laundering, bribing and threatening the state security.
In occupied West Bank, Palestinian bloggers see local tourism as defiance

Two Palestinian travel bloggers are promoting local Palestinian tourism in the West Bank as an act of defiance against Israeli occupation.
Dubai’s DP World to partner with Israeli firm in bid for Haifa Port

Dubai’s DP World says it is partnering with an Israeli group to bid for one of Israel’s two main ports and to examine opening a direct shipping line between the two Middle East states.
Gaza rockets, Israeli air strikes accompany Israel-Gulf pacts

Militants in Gaza launched rockets into Israel and Israeli aircraft hit targets in the Palestinian enclave in an explosive backdrop to the signing of pacts for formal ties between Israel and two Gulf Arab countries.
No peace in Mideast without end to Israel occupation: Abbas

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas says only an Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories can bring peace to the Middle East, as the UAE and Bahrain signed normalisation accords with the Jewish state.
As Arab Gulf starts opening to Israel, Palestinians face a reckoning

Israel’s rapprochement with Gulf Arab states has left the Palestinians feeling abandoned by traditional allies and clutching an old playbook in a rapidly changing Middle East, analysts and critics say.
UAE and Bahrain sign US-brokered deals with Israel, breaking longtime taboo

The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have signed agreements for normalising relations with Israel, becoming the latest Arab states to break a longstanding taboo in a strategic realignment of Middle Eastern countries against Iran.
Saudi to ease int’l flight restrictions today

Saudi Arabia will partially lift its suspension on international flights from today, the interior ministry said, six months after travel curbs were imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Lebanese rivalries hinder cabinet formation on eve of deadline

Lebanon’s factional rivalries have put the brakes on moves to form a new government on the eve of a deadline agreed with France, stalling efforts to drag the nation out of a dire economic crisis.
Gazans living on Emirates-funded estate rue normalisation deal with Israel

Palestinians fear the UAE’s move will weaken a long-standing pan-Arab call for Israeli withdrawal from occupied land and acceptance of Palestinian statehood in return for normal relations with Arab countries.
Libya's Haftar committed to ending oil blockade: US embassy says

Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar has committed to ending a months-long blockade of oil facilities, the US embassy in the country says in a statement.
Palestinians rally against Bahrain-Israel normalisation

Palestinians in Gaza have burnt pictures of Israeli, US, Bahraini and United Arab Emirates leaders in protest over the two Gulf countries’ moves to normalise ties with Israel.
Trump boasted of saving Saudi crown prince: report

US President Donald Trump boasted that he saved Saudi Arabia’s crown prince from greater scrutiny over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to an explosive new book.
Bangladesh Navy joins efforts to put out Beirut port fire

Members of Bangladesh Navy have joined in alongside firefighters to help put out a fire that broke out at Beirut port area in Lebanon today.
Big fire at Beirut port rattles residents a month after huge explosion

A large fire has erupted at Beirut port, sending a huge column of smoke above the city a little more than a month after a massive blast devastated the port and surrounding residential area of the Lebanese capital.
Assange extradition hearing to resume in London

A London hearing resumed yesterday to decide if WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should be extradited to the United States to face trial over the publication of secrets relating to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Saudi wants ‘fair solution’

Saudi Arabia supports a “fair solution” for the Palestinian cause, King Salman has told Donald Trump in a phone call, as the US President praised the kingdom for opening its airspace to Israel-UAE flights.
Saudi Arabia sentences eight people to prison in Khashoggi murder case

A Saudi Arabian court has issued a final ruling in the case of the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, sentencing eight people to between seven and 20 years in prison.
5 special flights of Biman to bring back Bangladeshis stranded in Lebanon

National flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines will operate five special flights on the Dhaka-Beirut route in the next few weeks to bring back Bangladeshi nationals who are stranded in Lebanon.
Rescuers sift Beirut rubble amid signs of life a month after blast

Rescue workers in Beirut dig through rubble and probed a collapsed building with sensors after signs of life were detected under a mound of debris one month after a huge explosion shattered the capital.
Qatar labour law reform: 4 lakh Bangladeshis to reap benefit

The situation of about four lakh Bangladeshi expatriates, mainly migrant workers, in Qatar is set to improve as the Gulf country recently brought some major changes to its labour laws for workers’ protection.
Stop or suspend West Bank annexation? Devil in the detail for Israel-UAE deal

A difference between English and Arabic versions of a trilateral statement after an historic flight from Israel to the UAE has been seized upon by Palestinians to suggest the Gulf state has overstated Israeli readiness to drop West Bank annexation plans.
All commitments met for Taliban peace talks: Afghan president

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani yesterday said that the government had met all of its commitments for peace talks with the Taliban, as a team left for Qatar to prepare for negotiations.
Saudi Arabia grants approval for UAE-Israel flights to use its airspace

Flights between Israel and the United Arab Emirates will be able to fly over Saudi Arabia after the kingdom has said all services to and from the UAE can cross its airspace.
Israeli, US officials arrive in UAE on historic trip to finalise accord

Top aides to US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have arrived in the United Arab Emirates on a historic flight from Tel Aviv to finalise a pact marking open relations between the Gulf power and Israel.
Newly designated Lebanese PM urges immediate reforms, IMF deal

Lebanon’s prime minister-designate Mustapha Adib has called for the formation of a new government in record time and urged immediate reforms as a step towards securing an agreement with the International Monetary Fund.
Lebanese ambassador Mustapha Adib poised to be designated PM

Lebanon’s ambassador to Germany Mustapha Adib is poised to be designated prime minister after winning the support of major parties to form a new government facing a crippling financial crisis and the aftermath of the Beirut port explosion.
Qatar raises minimum wage, lifts curbs on changing jobs

Qatar has announced changes to its labour laws, raising the minimum wage by 25 percent to 1,000 riyals ($275) a month and scrapping a requirement for workers to get permission from their employers to change jobs.
Beirut port blast death toll rises to 190

The death toll from the Beirut port blast has risen to 190 with more than 6,500 injured and three people missing, Lebanon’s caretaker government says in a report.